The Unpredictable
by nox06
Summary: This was the last summer Teddy Lupin and Evelyn Wood had before they were forced to join the real world, so they were going to make it the best one yet and damn the consequences. One-Shot.
Teddy Lupin had to say he was quite proud of the Quidditch team he had managed to arrange. He had finally found a use for the abundance of cousins he had.

He and his very good friend Evelyn Wood were both about to start their seventh year that September, and so they had decided to make this the best summer of their lives. Every week they made up a new competition and each day was spent in the other's company. It was the middle of August and the biggest competition yet.

Quidditch.

Both teens took the game very seriously, Evelyn a bit more so. Although, who could blame her? Her father was Oliver Wood for Merlin's sake. He was the best Keeper the League had ever seen and was now his old team's, Puddlemere United, coach. Unfortunately for Teddy, that meant Evelyn had years of training and hereditary insanity about the game under her belt. However, it was something that lead to the creation of The Rules.

The Rules were a list of, well, rules, that Teddy and Evelyn had written up on the train ride back from Hogwarts that June. There had been a lot of yelling, swearing, and hexing in order to create The Rules, but in the end both Teddy and Evelyn were satisfied with the results. Both teens had a copy on the wall in their rooms.

 **The Rules:**

Evelyn Wood's team must consist of all girls

Teddy Lupin's team must consist of all boys

Evelyn must start training one week after Teddy

Both coaches must be present at tryouts

Tryouts must be held at the same time

The Game must be conducted like a professional game

Oliver Wood cannot be referee because he will show favoritism

Ginny Potter cannot be referee because she will show favoritism

Evelyn Wood cannot play Keeper because she has had proper training

Teddy Lupin cannot play Chaser because he has had proper training

There must not be any trash-talk

There must not be any cheating

Whoever wins The Game must admit on bended knee that they were wrong

And that was it. The Rules were on paper. It was Teddy who had accidentally made it so The Game was a battle of the sexes. Actually, all of their competitions had been a war between the genders. It was started their whole competition thing.

They had been on the train for about an hour, talking about what they wanted to do that summer. Teddy, being his usual confident self, said, "No matter what we do, Evelyn, I'll beat you."

"Oh really?" Evelyn scoffed. "And why's that?"

"I'm a bloke."

"So?!"

"So I have more endurance, more strength, more strategy, and more skill."

Evelyn, however, disagreed. Loudly.

As the friends got off the train, they both had a list of things to do that summer and a copy of The Rules. They had decided that a Quidditch match would be the last competition between them because it tested all of the things that Teddy listed.

One week after returning home for the summer, Teddy and Evelyn held tryouts. Not only would whoever made the teams participate in the Quidditch game, but they were also a part of any other competitions that happened over the summer. They had played a muggle game called football, Wizarding Chess, relay races, a game called poker that Uncle Bill and Lorcan Scammander had taught them, and many, many more.

At the moment the two teams were tied at eight-to-eight. This frustrated both team captains to no end, and the outcome of The Game weighed even more heavily than before.

Right now, Teddy and his team were waiting for Evelyn and the girls at the makeshift Quidditch pitch at the Burrow. James and Freddie, Teddy's chosen Beaters, were hitting a bludger back and forth to work off their nerves. Albus, the Seeker, was racing Scorpius, a Chaser, around the pitch. Lysander Scammander and Hugo, that two remaining Chasers just sat in the center, talking. Teddy himself was pacing. He would be playing Keeper, it was his second best position afterall. Just as Evelyn would be playing Seeker for the same reason.

At least, that's what Teddy thought she would be playing. He actually had no idea. They had agreed that they wouldn't reveal who would be playing what until The Game. Yes, they knew who was on the team, but that didn't matter much. Each individual person had their own skills that could be best suited for a certain position. However, that didn't stop Teddy from preparing against the team he thought Evelyn had.

Rose would probably be playing Keeper like her father. Roxanne was most likely a Beater along with Molly. Dominique, Lucy, and Lily were all Chasers, with Evelyn herself as Seeker. It'd be a very hard team to beat, but Teddy knew that he had prepared accordingly.

As long as he had the team right.

Which he did. Of course. It was laughably predictable, just like Evelyn. All girls were predictable really.

He hoped.

"Ready to lose, Lupin?"

Teddy turned to see Evelyn Wood smirking up at him as she walked towards him, a Cyclone 06 slung over her shoulder. Her hair was pulled back into a ponytail and she wore her Quidditch gear.

"Keep dreaming, Wood."

"I don't need to. We all know it's reality."

"Sure. Who plays what on your team?"

"Take a guess."

Teddy didn't trust the smirk that was steadily growing on his best friend's face, and he was right not to. After he recited what he thought her team was, Evelyn declared, quite cheerfully, "Nope!"

Then she walked over to her team.

"Wait, what? Evelyn!"

But Teddy no longer had a chance to argue with her. The crowd had arrived, along with the referee, Lorcan Scammander. At first, Teddy had been slightly worried that he'd show favoritism because his brother was a Chaser on Teddy's team, but that was before he came to the realization that Lorcan was far too lazy to do so. It was the entire reason he hadn't tried out, and he wasn't on the Slytherin Quidditch team. Plus, as Evelyn pointed out, Lorcan fancied Domi, who was on her team.

When she said that however, Teddy had simply blinked and stated that Lorcan had a string of girls who worshipped him, while Domi argued with him daily. Evelyn merely replied that it was obvious, and the entire world but Lily was oblivious, including Lorcan.

But that was besides the point. Right now, Teddy and his team were standing in a huddle as they watched the crowd grow. People would think that it'd be a small crowd seeing as all The Game was was really just a 'friendly' Quidditch match. They'd be wrong, however. Weasleys all stood waiting for the game to begin, along with the Scammander Brothers' family. The Longbottoms were there, along with Evelyn's family. Her father, Oliver Wood, was already in an argument with Teddy's godmother, Ginny Potter. Draco Malfoy and his best friend, Blaise Zabini, were there as well, looking extremely prepared to scream Scorpius on. A multitude of other family, friends, and family friends were there as well. He'd never admit it, but Teddy found it extremely nerve-wracking.

Charlotte Jordan, another good friend of Teddy's and Evelyn's, was there to commentate, and she bounced up to Teddy. "Hello, boys," she grinned. "Think you'll win The Game?"

"Of course," James scoffed. "You don't honestly think-"

"-that the _girls_ could beat us, do you?"

Teddy had always found it terrifying how James and Freddie finished each other's sentences even though they weren't twins.

"Well, I talked to Evelyn and she said you guys have been prepping all wrong," Charlotte said, and Teddy could see the same glint of mischievousness her father, Lee Jordan, had. He had to have it, seeing as it was him who started the Potter Watch, and continued it to this day.

"What do you mean?" Lysander asked, magenta eyebrow raised in precaution.

"Her team. Teddy's been coaching you against a team he set up, not one Evelyn did. And this is Evelyn. She's always been one to go against what people think. She sees the small parts of people and uses that to her advantage. Did you know she was nearly a Slytherin because of it?"

Teddy swore, eyes widening as he wiped his head around to face his friend who was giving her team a pep talk. She met his gaze over Lily's head, and, noticing Charlotte, smirked.

"I forgot about that," Teddy whispered, panicked. He looked back at Charlotte. "You've got to tell me how she's set up her team."

Charlotte stepped back, thrown off by how much her friend resembled a wild animal in that moment, "Uh, well, she made Lily Seeker because of how freakishly observant she is. Rose is a Chaser because she's good at strategizing thanks to chess. Same with Roxanne. Molly's Keeper because, and I quote, 'she's too bloody stubborn to let the Quaffle pass.' And then Domi and Lucy are the Beaters because they're the most likely to be underestimated since Lucy is so sweet, and Domi can't be bothered to actually try hard enough to make some damage."

"And Evelyn's a Chaser," Teddy breathed, cutting Charlotte off. Of course, it was obvious now. Evelyn hated being Chaser. She was independent and being a Chaser relied too much on other people for her tastes. Teddy groaned, letting his head hang. He should have thought this through, but he hadn't, and now he knew that he and the boys were practically done for.

"Right then," he said, suddenly determined. There was no bloody way he was going to let Evelyn win and prove him wrong. "If you could excuse us Charlie, I need to give my team a pep talk."

Charlotte grinned, saluting him as she walked away. "Good luck, boys!"

Albus, however, was less cheerful. "You're kidding, right Teddy? There's no way we can beat them!"

"Sure there is!"

"Yeah, right," Scorpius scoffed. "Evelyn's got you pegged, and she went for the least likely team available in order to throw us off. And it worked."

"Come on, Scorp, we've got one thing they haven't."

"What's that?" Although nervous at the prospect at being beaten into smithereens by his older sister, Hugo was to curious to not ask the question.

Teddy threw his arms across Lysander's and James' shoulders, leaning in close. "We. Are. Men. No matter what those girls throw at us, we are men. Even if we lose, which we won't, we are men. We. Are. Men. We. Are. Men. We! Are! Men!"

Teddy's team slowly joined in on his chant, causing it to steadily grow louder until it could be heard all across the pitch. His grin grew to match the intensity of their chant as Teddy looked at his team. He was extremely proud of them. They had worked _hard_ over the summer in preparation of The Game, and still enjoyed their daily practices. Sure, they were screwed, and Teddy was insanely angry at Evelyn for being herself and doing the unexpected, but this really had been the best summer of his life, just as she had promised.

A shrill whistle broke through their chant, and Lorcan's lazy drawl followed it, "The Game starts now. Captains shake hands."

"Nice chant there, Lupin," Evelyn smirked, squeezing harder than Teddy thought her capable of. "But if you want to win you should do something more empowering. Next time try 'we are women.'"

Teddy smirked back at her, and squeezed in return, "I thought there was a rule against trash talk."

Evelyn rolled her yes. "Like Lorcan would notice."

Teddy glanced at the blond and had to agree. Lorcan only paid attention when it benefitted him or when he felt like it. He probably wouldn't give a damn until they were up in the air, and would stop caring as soon as they landed.

Charlotte's voice rang through the air. "THE SNITCH IS IN THE AIR AND THEY ARE OFF!"

* * *

"I suppose you deserve a congratulations, then."

"Thanks, we appreciate it."

Teddy Lupin scowled, glaring at his former best friend, Evelyn Wood. It had taken three professional opinions for him to accept it, but the girls hadn't cheated. Lorcan Scammander had told him that with his usual nonchalance. Oliver Wood had told him that with not-at-all covered elation. Ginny Potter had told him that with obvious regret.

At the moment, Teddy and Evelyn were sitting next to the pond as everyone else ate dinner at the Burrow. Evelyn hadn't been able to stop grinning after Teddy had kneeled in front of her and all of the spectators and stated, quite clearly, "Evelyn Wood, you were right and I was wrong. I was a sexist pig-head, and all women are superior." It had annoyed Teddy at first, but he was steadily growing fond of her childlike pride.

"Was I right?"

"I already told you that," Teddy groaned. And he had. In front of everyone.

"Not that," Evelyn laughed. "This summer. Was it the best one of you life?"

Teddy grinned at his friend and nodded. "Yeah, it was."

"Good, I'm glad."

The two sat there in a comfortable silence for awhile, just admiring the view. Fireflies lit up the evening every now and then, and it seemed like Evelyn was unable to look away from the surprisingly beautiful pond. Teddy, on the other hand, was unable to look away from her. She had taken her hair out of it's ponytail and it now rested on her shoulders. Teddy had the rather bizarre desire to run his hands through it.

"Hey, Teddy?"

"Yeah, Evelyn?"

"I think I have an idea to make it even better."

She turned to face him, looking just as mischievous as she had when she had walked onto the pitch earlier that day.

"And what's that?" Teddy whispered.

"Kiss me."

WIthout giving him a chance to reply, or even process her words, Evelyn had pressed her lips to his. The kiss was short and sweet and undeniably perfect.

Once again, Evelyn had shocked Teddy by doing the unpredictable. This time though, he wasn't complaining. It really did make their summer even better.

 _FIN_

 _PLEASE RATE AND REVIEW. I HOPE YOU ENJOYED!_


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